A fun way I get article ideas when I bang my head against a wall
Bonjour, fellow writers, how’s life treating ya? It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? >:/
The sun is shining, people are walking all around the city (some of them forgot to zip their pants, apparently), and I keep getting obese for that cappuccino that I can’t leave BECAUSE IT’S TOO DELICIOUS.
Oh, by the way, if you ever visit Italy, make sure to try cappuccino; it’s an esperienza italiana that you won’t easily forget. 🤌
Or maybe you live in the UK, and it’s raining right now. If that’s the case, sorry, mate, no coffee for ya since y’all like tea. ☕
All jokes aside (ok, there were no jokes in the first place, but you know what I mean, just accept it, pls), I’ve noticed that I’m getting to know my readers and connecting more with you all, a big family basically.
So I thought I would chit-chat and share some stuff with you all, because, why not?
Seems like a good idea, right? ^-^
No, I’m not sharing my cappuccino…
When you were a beginner (or if you are one), you probably heard from many influencers that writing is one of the best ways to change your life.
While it is true that you can change your life (well, partially true), hard work always comes first when it comes to achieving your dream goals.
Look, what I’m saying is that influencers oversimplify the process of writing great articles.
Most of them are like:
YES YES, you need to pick your favorite topic you want to write about; YES YES, you need to “magically” write a whole article; you know, it’s super easy to do; and YES YES, MONEYYY MONEYYY!!!
Also, buy my course for $2000 so I can teach you more…
Bruuh, what da hail? $2000 for a single writing course???
Ah hell nahhh. 💀
But what happens in reality?
Well, if you’re a writer, then you pretty much know the drill.
However, for those who have never written a single article, let me give ya an idea (embrace yourself, ladies and gentlemen):
You start by picking a topic (which could take you half an hour, sometimes), you get excited, you sit down, you get super excited once again, you can’t wait to write your article, you write your first line, and you’re already in migraine, you start to think what the hell am I doing in life, you try to write the second line, but somehow, you end up scrolling on social media, you try your best to write that stupid second line again, and now you officially destroyed your laptop.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, believe it or not, this is what writing in a nutshell is, and I’m pretty sure many writers will agree with me.
Well, at least I hope y’all agree. 👀
Now, let’s talk seriously
I hope I made you smile by sharing my stupid jokes, but let’s get serious.
When you’re starting out or writing articles every once in a while, you might have some great ideas and fewer writer’s blocks. However, if you’ve been writing for a looong time, the game is completely different for you.
You often face writer’s block, are not motivated to write, waste time on social media, and so on. Believe me, I clearly understand that painful situation.
In fact, I had a massive block last week where I couldn’t write a single word; it was stressful AF.
Here’s what I do when things get really difficult
The truth is, we can’t prevent writer’s block; it’s inevitable but normal, so don’t cry.
However, you can take some advanced steps to have fewer writer’s blocks and have some great ideas that you can apply to your article.
So here’s what I do:
I take a notebook and a pen, I close my laptop, I take my favorite green tea (I never said I don’t like tea, so be quiet), I choose one of my favorite spots that bring me peace, I sit, and then I write some great article ideas.
In other words, I allow my brain to fully work and let it flow all the creative ideas into my notebook while enjoying my snack and chilling in a beautiful spot.
And that’s it. Allow me to explain why it is effective and how it helps me.
I’m not using my laptop, and what does that mean?
It means that I don’t easily get distracted.
There’s a huge debate among great writers about whether writing in a notebook helps writers improve their writing skills or not. However, it is a fact that we get distracted when we try to write online.
Be honest, how many times did you open YouTube when you were trying to write an article?
Heh, no need to answer.
So when I take a notebook, I can’t do anything other than write. Another benefit of writing in a notebook is that my eyes are taking a break.
Seriously, aren’t we all trying to use less technology these days? Do you really need to use your computer for the whole day?
Yeah, that’s what I thought. I feel bad for your eyes, man.
By doing this, I’m more relaxed
When you try to write and you’re not motivated to do so, your laptop can overwhelm you.
You check the clock every 2 seconds, and you see it’s been 20 minutes, and you only wrote 1 line. Well, that’s a great way to be pissed.
Even worse, you try to distract yourself with games or with videos, and you realize you just wasted 2 hours doing nothing, making you even more pissed.
Then what happens?
You tell yourself that tomorrow I’ll do my best and I’ll write 50 articles in less than an hour because I can do it (and you never do it).
I feel, yeah, there is no need to be ashamed.
When you take your favorite snack (and I know it’s your best friend) and pick a spot that represents peace, you’re more relaxed, and your brain starts to fire great ideas.
If your brain is firing great ideas and you have a notebook, then what?
You have now unlocked and sealed the best ideas for your articles for next week.
In fact, before I bought myself a notebook, I had really great article ideas, but I forgot those ideas. I still regret it.
But….but… Arrafi, I can use AI and…
🤫 Shhhhhh, no pressure.
Now, look, of course, we can’t ignore AI, and it’s okay to get help from it; however, I strongly believe that we’re more creative than this bitc… I mean AI when we actually try our best.
And why wouldn’t you want to boost your creativity when you can? Do you really want AI to do every single thing?
A short, boring story: I used to use AI to give me article ideas without giving my mind a try. However, when I tried to open my mind, I got better ideas than the AI (and I slightly regretted using AI).
Unless you just want to spam chunks of writing without caring about your readers, yeah, sure, you can use AI, copy and paste, spam, and hope for the best.
But if you really want to connect with your readers and boost your progress, I highly suggest you give your brain a try.
Now you might have some questions, so let me answer them.
Will this strategy prevent writer’s block?
- As I mentioned before, we can’t prevent it, but we can have better ideas so that you’ll have an idea of what to write.
Should I really give it a try? I mean, I’m ok with my laptop.
- Well, it depends on you. If you don’t face writer’s block, then it’s not necessary. However, I still highly suggest that you at least try once and then do what’s best for you. You know, using your brain at 100%
Will this strategy make me cuter?
- No
In conclusion
While I understand that some writers want quick ideas, it is important to value quality over quantity.
You will make more progress with a single great article than with five bad articles.
It’s a fun little activity that I do (in fact, I’m writing this article from my notebook, LOL), and I recommend you try it at least.
Do you have any original tips that you use to get better ideas? I would love to know!
Until next time, see ya, champs!
